Well..Here he is...It looks like the Grim Reaper has finally come for me...It's been a great run but...Hey! Waitaminute! That's Father Time! He's here to symbolize the passing of another year and to usher in 2016...So get ready to keep writing the wrong year on all yr checks for the next few months! I like New Year's Eve! It's a night dedicated to hanging out with friends and getting plaster-ass dranked!
So let's pop a bottle and put on some tunes...I have a very hard time coming up with a list of songs about New Years and an even harder time coming up with a list of them that I actually like...But here it is..If anyone else can come up with any others feel free to share them...
Tom Waits: A Sight for Sore Eyes
Lawrence Arms: 100 Resolutions
U2: New Years Day
Beach Boys: Auld Lang Syne
HAPPY 2016 EVERYBODY!! SEE YOU, LATER 2015!! YOU SUCKED! YOU KILLED LEMMY (OH, AND PHIL TAYLOR), YOU DIRTY, ROTTEN, NO GOOD YEAR!!!!
Track Listin': 1. Get Out of Denver 2. I Knew the Bride 3. Back To School Days 4. Here Comes the Weekend 5. Worn Out Suits, Brand New Pockets 6. Where or When 7. Ju Ju Man 8. Git It 9. Let's Talk About Us 10. Hey Good Lookin' 11. What Did I Do Last Night? 12. Little Darlin' 13.My Baby Left Me
Yes! "Get It"marks the beginning of one of my favorite run of album's ever...Dave picks up a band, rather than recording every instrument himself, which shoots the energy through the roof (although the spike in energy is also possibly attributable to the new genre of punk that emerged in the wake of "Subtle As a Flying Mallet"). And the band he assembles (Rockpile (minus a member at this point)) features fucking brilliant songwriter Nick Lowe who also has a knack of improving everything he touches...And to top off this transformation, the Phil Spector recreations are (mostly) shelved in favor of high-speed R n' R, Everly Brothers harmonies and a splash of country here and there...
(Oh man...I've always been fascinated by the Swan Song label graphics...On one hand, the lack of genitalia is disturbing, but on the other hand I'm thankful the angel isn't jutting his junk right in my face...And the wings originate from an odd place on his back...Sort like a tramp stamp becoming a real set of wings...
Also, is the angel supposed to be Robert Plant? I think it might be...)
This is where you find those fast and tight classics, "JuJu Man," "I Knew the Bride," and an incredibly ass-kicking cover of Bob Seger's "Get Out of Denver" where he just revs the engine until the wheels nearly fall off (You have to use an automobile metaphor when you're discussing Bob Seger right?)
(Ooo...Look at those big wheels bounce...)
(I know this is blasphemous talk for a Michigander, but I don't usually care for Bob Seger...It seems like he doesn't rock as much as he should...Although whenever anyone covers Bob Seger, I usually love it (see also Thin Lizzy's "Rosalie" (do NOT see Metallica's "Turn the Page" (ah, man...I hate the song "Turn the Page," forget my mixed feelings on Bob Seger...The memory of that irritating sax squonk in "Turn the Page" makes me hate every possible aspect of Bob Seger...)))
I don't think "Get It" is quite as great as what would follow ("Hey Good Lookin'" is still a little too familiar, even in this rockabillied-up version, and "Back To School Days" is nowhere near the league of Dave's second Graham Parker interpretation, "Crawling From the Wreckage") but it's pretty close...And "Here Comes the Weekend" is one of the best Friday Night songs ever written...Not to mention everything here clocks in at right around the 2-minute mark, so if a song's not doing it for you, it'll pass soon enough..I still give it a hearty recommendation if you're looking for straight-up rock n' roll...
Here's "Here Comes the Weekend" by Dave Edmunds...Enjoy...
Merry Christmas everyone! By this time, I hope you're all waist-deep in shredded wrapping paper and drunk on buttered rum...Every year at the Friday Night Record Party, I post a bunch of Christmas songs that I like...The list gets harder and harder to do without running into repeats, so this year's list is shorter than usual...Which leaves more time to play with yr shiny new Xbox One, right? Or hey! You can listen to the previous year's lists:
It's the Friday Night Record Party Christmas party! Let's twist!
(drinks eggnog. feels a twisting pain in stomach. Sweats and has to lie down.)
(ting ting ting ting ting)
"Do you kids hear that? It sounds kinda like jingle bells doesn't it? Could it be?"
"It is!! It's Santa! And he's carrying a big sack! Could it be full of presents and toys for you?!?! I bet it is! Oh, I bet he's bringing that bike you asked for! And the sled! And the Xbox One!!"
"Oh, wait...Nevermind...He flew right past our house...Go back to bed I guess...Maybe we'll just shovel snow tomorrow instead..."
(BTW, it kinda bothers me that they called the latest Xbox, the Xbox One, cos now I don't know what to call my old Xbox...)
(Maybe I'll just start referring to it as the 30 lb. brick in my closet...)
Anyway, our Christmas Party is in full swing...Slick Snailman is drunk on Cold Duck and telling us what's wrong with this country and Bethany from accounting is showing her boobs! None of the IT Department showed up cos all they're all watching Star Wars...Oh, well...All is good...And on the turntable?
\
The London Symphony Orchestra and Chorus: Hallmark Presents the Most Loved Christmas Carols
1985
Hallmark Records
Format I Own it on: Vinyl
Track Listing: 1.
O Come, All Ye Faithful 2. The First Noel 3. God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen 4. Angels We Have Heard On High 5. O Holy Night 6. Deck The Halls 7. We Wish You A Merry Christmas 8. The Twelve Days Of Christmas 9. Hark! The Angels Sing 10. What Child Is This? 11. Silent Night 12. Joy To The World
I got this record for free about 2 days after last Christmas...And I think it hits the Christmas mark more cleanly than any other Holiday record I own, except for possibly the Chipmunks Christmas album...This is some deep, deep Christmas shit...
This is the bitter taste of cinnamon in a particularly pungent Christmas Pudding...
...the very dead Christmas goose that delights the children...
...the real candles on the Christmas tree, an inch away from torching your entire house down...
This is massed choirs and ominous music...Taking place in a fussy, ornate church where the foreboding light barely shines through the stained glass, causing red and blue baubles of light to dance across the clusters of gold...Vaguely unsettling but at the same time imbued with a joyous wonder..."Who's Kid is This?" asks Mary to the cold, unanswering sky...A robed angel, wings spread wide like a swooping bird of prey, hovers gently to the ground to break the news, "An invisible man hath stolen your womb in the dead of the night and filled it with life, but fear not...For you have sacrificed your virginity for a greater glory! Listen to how the choir of angels sing! HEAR THEM AND REJOICE!!!"
Suddenly "
Deck The Halls" and "We Wish You a Merry Christmas" glow brighter in the light of recent trauma..."dazed...head hurts...light bright...I hear a song..."Tis a wondrous song..." You stumble towards the bedroom, as you pass the unlit hall a stranger puts his hand on your shoulder and asks, "You alright, kid?" Is it an angel?
There is no snow in the Arizona heat...There was also no snow on the first Christmas...
Track Listing: 1. Blue Christmas 2. Here Comes Santa Claus 3. Santa Bring My Baby Back 4. White Christmas 5. Silent Night 6. I'll Be Home For Christmas 7.Santa Claus Is Back In Town 8. Mama Liked The Roses 9. O Little Town Of Bethlehem 10. O Come All Ye Faithful 11. Studio Conversation W/Pickers & Singers
Chrussmuss is right around ye old corner, so recently I bought a small stack of dusty old dollar bin Christmas Records...So let's spike some eggnog and put one on...
As for, "Chrismas to Elvis," I bought this one totally on accident...I thought I was buying this old Elvis Presley Christmas record that was a childhood holiday favorite...
(I was always fascinated by the snowman w/ the Elvis head in the lower left hand corner...We had it on 8-track, so it was especially small and intriguing....) But when I went to throw the album on the turntable, I noticed someone put the wrong album in the wrong sleeve...This wasn't "Elvis Sings the Wonderful World of Christmas"...It was his backing band, the Jordanaires playing with an Elvis impersonator...But not just any Elvis impersonator, but ORION!!!!
Score! Apparently, this is the Jordanaires tribute to their recently deceased boss, although I'm kinda leaning towards this being less a tribute and more a cash-in to fool Elvis fans....The album cover and title are unclear whether or not this album actually has Elvis on it and if you weren't paying attention, Orion might could theoretically fool you...Still, it's hard to be too mad at it, cos it's good Elvis-y holiday fun...And bonus points for throwing "Mama Liked The Roses"...My personal favorite Christmas songs are the ones that are actually designed to turn you into a Holiday suicide statistic...
Honestly, the most entertaining moment on the album is the conversation at the end where the band laugh and reminisce about making the original Elvis Christmas albums and Elvis fighting to get band members and back-up singers credited on his albums...Nice stuff...It's easy to forget that Elvis was a real person and not a banana-and-peanut-butter-sandwich eating, Television-shooting robot... I dunno, I paid maybe a dollar for this...I'd say that's about right...There's definitely a dollars worth of entertainment here...It's gaudy and crass and cheesy, but those same words can be applied to Christmas, so it feels right, in a slimy way...Orion fans should absolutely check this out...
None of this was on youtube, so here's a video of wacky-ass Orion singing on TV...
Track Listing: 1. Baby, I Love You 2. Leave My Woman Alone 3. Maybe 4. Da Doo Ron Ron 5. Let It Be Me 6. No Money Down 7. A Shot of Rhythm and Blues 8. Billy the Kid 9. Born to Be with You 10. She's My Baby 11. I Ain't Never 12. Let It Rock
The true measure of how good a record store is lies in how many Dave Edmunds records line its cheap bins... That's what's so great about Dave Edmunds...He put out some of my all-time favorite records, yet they're always cheap and plentiful...I can't recall ever paying more than $3.00 for one...Score!
If you're not familiar with his work, he's best known as an interpreter of 50's rock...The albums are mostly covers or donated songs so it's a good thing he's probably the world's best cover artist of all time...I've never heard a song that he hasn't improved...This is a guy who does his own versions of Bruce Springsteen, Nick Lowe, John Fogerty and Elvis Costello and always betters them...He's a studio obsessive making sure every screw is tightened, every harmony is in place, but his best records somehow sound effortless until you start paying too close attention to their moving parts...Keep in mind, I loved his stuff this much at a time I didn't especially care for per-British Invasion 50's-early 60's rock...He does such a good job on this genre that I couldn't help but finally see why that era was so special...He usually speeds it up a bit, makes it a bit more modern and punchy and improves the melodies and harmonies...He often succeeded in turning old timey rock n' roll into shimmering power pop...I honestly believe that everyone on planet Earth should own at least 7 Dave Edmunds albums...
That said, "Subtle As a Flying Mallet" is probably my least favorite Dave Edmunds album I own....It's his second solo album (he had a previous band called Love Sculpture), I don't have the first one, so I'm starting here...When you think of the standard Dave Edmunds sound (tightly wound rockabilly power it's mostly missing here...
This is one of those albums that is more remarkable for its technical achievement than the music contained within...Not that there's anything wrong with the music...Y'see, Dave spent his time holed up alone in a studio, working around the clock to re-create uncanny renditions of Phil Spector Wall of Sound classics that are virtually indistinguishable from the originals...This was probably huge news in 1975! If you wanted that Wall of Sound for you own album, you could now contact Dave Edmunds to produce your next record and there was virtually no chance that you would get a gun pointed at you and no B-movie accesses would wind up dead!
Here are my two problems with the album:
1. The thing that draws me into a Dave Edmunds album is the differences...He tends to improve every song he touches, so when he merely copies a song note for note, a lot of the magic is lost...
2. The song selection, though awesome, is a tad over-familiar...Another big draw is how deep and obscure his cover choices usually are...He usually succeeds in turning you on onto a bunch of time-lost treasures, but I've heard most of these...I can imagine though, if you were as unfamiliar w/ Phil Spector as I'm unfamiliar with 50's rock there might be some surprises here...I dunno...
That said, it's a very listenable album, it's just not what I'm looking for when I'm looking for a fix of Dave Edmunds...That's why I rarely play this album...That said, there's a few things of interest here: "A Shot Of Rhythm And Blues" is pretty much exactly what I'm looking for. Trebly, tightly wound rock n; roll...There are a few other songs ("Leave My Woman Alone," "No Money Down," "Let it Rock") that foretell the bulk of his career (hell, he even teams up w/ Nick Lowe for a couple tracks) but they're noticeably lacking in the live-wire excitement he would gain once punk and new wave came around to kick him in the ass... For these reasons, I say skip it, unless you've already used up the other Dave Edmunds classics and need something new to listen to or if you're a die-hard Wall-of-Sound fanatic that used up all the Phil Spector classics and need something new to listen to...I feel kind of bad not recommending it since it really is a remarkable achievement and everything here is good...Eh...Find it cheap...
Here's "A Shot Of Rhythm And Blues" by Dave Edmunds...Enjoy...
Track Listing (oh, man...This is gonna take awhile...)
Disc One: 1. Lay Lady Lay 2. Baby, Let Me Follow You Down 3. If Not for You 4. I'll Be Your Baby Tonight 5. I'll Keep It with Mine 6. The Times They Are a-Changin' 7. Blowin' in the Wind 8. Masters of War 9. The Lonesome Death of Hattie Carroll 10. Percy's Song
Disc Two: 1. Mixed-Up Confusion 2. Tombstone Blues 3. Groom's Still Waiting at the Altar 4. Most Likely You Go Your Way (Live) 5. Like a Rolling Stone 6. Jet Pilot 7. Lay Down Your Weary Tune 8. Subterranean Homesick Blues 9. I Don't Believe You (She Acts Like We Never Have Met) (Live) 10. Visions of Johanna (live) 11. Every Grain of Sand
Disc Three: 1. Quinn the Eskimo (The Mighty Quinn) 2. Mr. Tambourine Man 3. Dear Landlord 4. It Ain't Me, Babe 5. You Angel You 6. Million Dollar Bash 7. To Ramona 8. You're a Big Girl Now (Live) 9. Abandoned Love 10. Tangled Up in Blue 11. It's All Over Now, Baby Blue
Disc Four: 1. Can You Please Crawl Out Your Window? 2. Positively 4th Street 3. Isis 4. Caribbean Wind 5. Up to Me 6. Baby, I'm in the Mood for You 7. I Wanna Be Your Lover 8. I Want You 9. Heart of Mine (Live) 10. On a Night Like This 11. Just Like a Woman
Disc Five: 1. Romance in Durango (Live) 2. Señor (Tales of Yankee Power) 3. Gotta Serve Somebody 4. I Believe in You 5. Time Passes Slowly 6. I Shall Be Released 7. Knockin' on Heaven's Door 8. All Along the Watchtower (Live) 9. Solid Rock 10. Forever Young (Demo Version)
Gigantic vinyl box set monster from 1985, that follows (perhaps invented?) the standard box set formula...A Bunch of greatest hits mixed with a motley assortment of outtakes, demos, and live versions...Presented in non-chronological order, which was probably wise, since the only way to get me to sit through gospel Dylan is the promise of a rare non-album "Highway 61"-era single...Probably, the single most entertaining aspect of the box set is the big-ass book and copious liner notes where Dylan give his usual mix of incredibly precious information and complete and utter BS...I've probably already discussed all the hits, so I'll mostly just talk about the non-album stuff and tracks from albums I haven't discussed yet (aka stuff I don't own)...I'll break this down, record by record...
Disc 1:
They ease you into "Biograph" with the highest concentration of legit hits found in the set...Only a few rarities but they're good ones..."I'll Keep it With Mine" is top notch...Just a simple, luminous beauty of a song that was apparently recorded for the "Blonde on Blonde" sessions...On one hand, the quietude of the song might have slowed down the whirlwind that was "Blonde on Blonde,"but on the other hand, imagine how fucking awesome that album would have been if he'd replaced "Leopard-Skin Pill-Box Hat" with this...I also like "Percy's Song" even though it's 1,000,000 years long...I can't help it, it brings back fond memories of watching "Don't Look Back" and wondering what in the hell that cool song Joan Baez was singing...I should also point out how much I enjoy "Masters of War"...I know it's blustery and unsubtle but damn if you don't feel it here (motions to beer gut)...
Disc 2: Alright, now we're digging into the vaults a bit...Over half of this disc is non-album stuff.....This kicks off with Dylan's first single which was electric Elvis Rock n' Roll?!?! It's nothing too staggeringly great, but it's super fun to hear Dylan tackle this style...Actually, once it gets going, it's not too dissimilar to the electric portions of "Bringing it All Back Home"...We also have a "Shot of Love"-era B-Side (?!?!) called "Groom's Still Waiting at the Altar" which isn't half bad...Just a pretty generic blues that isn't too preachy on a casual listen..."Jet Pilot" is interesting, it's just a chunk of an early take of "Tombstone Blues" that features an M. Night Shyamalan type twist ending...I sorta think this disc is the best one in the set, due to the back-to-back pairing of two fantastic outtakes: "Lay Down Your Weary Tune" which is a desolate, dissolute acoustic track...real lonesome stuff ...And " I Don't Believe You (She Acts Like We Never Have Met) " feels like more of a legit single than most of the singles Dylan actually released...It makes my head spin that he didn't include this on one of his albums and instead threw it onto side 4 of a box set...
On a side note, I've never heard the "Before the Flood" Dylan/Band live album...Boy, is the stuff from that album on here weird...Compare its stiff weirdness with the brilliant live recording of "Visions of Johanna" that follows it...
Disc 3: Some more unreleased live stuff on Disc 3...There's also an alternate version of "Quinn the Eskimo" that's suitably creamy..."Abandoned Love" would have fit right in on "Desire"...Same crisp songwriting style, same vaguely irritating violin...Nah, the violin sounds fine here...Again, it's the cumulative effect of the instrument...Put any song on from "Desire" on and it sounds great individually...
Disc 4: Is almost all rare/unreleased...It starts off with a couple of non-album singles, "Positively 4th Street" (which I've discussed in a previous post) and the "Can You Please Crawl Out Your Window?" which is such super classic "Highway 61"-era Dylan that I can't believe isn't more popular...I had never heard it until I bought this boxset roughly 10 years ago...This spindly, non-country-ish Hawks were such an amazing band...Who bought them wah-wah pedals and clavinets? Who?! Another score here is "Up to Me," a "Blood on the Tracks" outtake that sounds exactly like "Shelter from the Storm," although I think I might actually like it a bit more than "Shelter"...It feels less forced somehow...Also be sure to check out "I Wanna Be Your Lover," where Bob blatantly rips off the Beatles/Stones but bests both of those bands...He uses the opening line of "I Wanna Be Your Man" for the chorus and then writes a bunch of evocative lyrics that highlight how shallow the British-Invasion still stuff was at that point..."Baby, I'm in the Mood for You" is somewhat slight folkie Dylan but worth it to hear Bob get all wacky with his vocal delivery at the end...They also include a couple of 80's outtakes that are surprisingly fun and listenable...I don't remember enjoying these 80's Dylan albums at all, but for some reason these sound great to me...Maybe because I know in 3 minutes or so I'll get to hear some cool 60's stuff? Or is it really that he cut all the good songs from his 80's albums (in fear of it possibly highlighting the fact that the rest of it is so lacking)? I dunno...But "Caribbean Wind" rules...
Disc 5: They start to get back to the hits with the final disc, in an attempt for a strong finish, I'm guessing, but this is where fatigue starts to set in for me...Possibly due to a cluster of sterile "Slow Train Coming" songs...I kinda dig some of the world music feel on some of the stuff on this disc...Like "Señor (Tales of Yankee Power)" and the 70's outtake "Romance in Durango" which seriously won me over...They end on a strong note with an intimate rel-to-reel demo of "Forever Young" that offers up yet a third drastically different take of the song...
Overall, a trawl through this thing is serious fun for a Dylan fan...I think a beginner would be completely overwhelmed by all of this, but maybe not...It's about 90% awesome and I agree that the mosaic sequencing really bolsters the less interesting 70's and 80's stuff...
Here's "Can You Please Crawl Out Your Window" by Bobby D tha Bo$$....Enjoy...
Track Listing: 1. Rainy Day Women #12 & 35 2. Blowin' in the Wind 3. The Times They Are a-Changin' 4. It Ain't Me Babe 5. Like a Rolling Stone 6. Mr. Tambourine Man 7. Subterranean Homesick Blues 8. I Want You 9. Positively 4th Street 10. Just Like a Woman
A collection of all the Bob Dylan songs you've probably heard 10 billion times already...As I listened to this, I realized I'm no longer capable of consciously hearing "Blowin' in the Wind"...It's become refrigerator hum to me...A lot of this suffers from "Stairway"-itis...Don't get me wrong, it's all fantastic stuff, but I just don't pull this from the record shelf too often except to hear "Positively 4th Street" (an awesomely bitter song that doesn't appear on any of his proper albums...God, this Dylan guy sounds like a real asshole...Ever seen that "Don't Look Back" movie? ASSHOLE!! But he's an amazingly hilarious asshole, so he gets a pass from me)...
Bob Dylan: Greatest Hits Volume II
1971
Format I Own it on: Vinyl
Columbia Records
Track Listing: 1. Watching the River Flow 2. Don't Think Twice, It's All Right 3. Lay Lady Lay 4. Stuck Inside of Mobile with the Memphis Blues Again 5. I'll Be Your Baby Tonight 6. All I Really Want to Do 7. My Back Pages 8. Maggie's Farm 9. Tonight I'll Be Staying Here with You 10. She Belongs to Me 11. All Along the Watchtower 12. The Mighty Quinn (Quinn the Eskimo) 13. Just Like Tom Thumb's Blues 14. A Hard Rain's A-Gonna Fall 15. If Not for You 16. It's All Over Now, Baby Blue 17. Tomorrow Is a Long Time 18. When I Paint My Masterpiece 19. I Shall Be Released 20. You Ain't Goin' Nowhere 21. Down in the Flood
Now this is a greatest hits album! Compiled by ol' wheezy himself, it's absolutely perfect...If I were to put together a Dylan greatest hits album, this is pretty much what it would have looked like...And as a bonus there's a good EP's worth of new material on here (mostly re-recordings of Basement Tapes material, which hadn't been released yet), which is where you can find the banjo-y version of "You Ain't Goin' Nowhere" with the alternate lyrics that bust on Roger McGuinn for fuckin' up the lyrics on the Byrds version...One of the few instances where the new studio tracks on a greatest hits album actually live up to the hits...This album gets my highest possible recommendation...
Bob Dylan: The Essential Bob Dylan
2000
Columbia/Legacy Records
Format I own it on: Compact Disc
Track Listing: Disc One: 1. Blowin' in the Wind 2. Don't Think Twice, It's All Right 3. The Times They Are a-Changin' 4. It Ain't Me Babe 5. Maggie's Farm 6. It's All Over Now, Baby Blue 7. Mr. Tambourine Man 8. Subterranean Homesick Blues 9. Like a Rolling Stone 10. Positively 4th Street 11. Just Like a Woman 12. Rainy Day Women #12 & 35 13. All Along the Watchtower 14. The Mighty Quinn (Quinn the Eskimo) 15. I'll Be Your Baby Tonight
Disc Two: 1. Lay Lady Lay 2. If Not for You 3. I Shall Be Released 4. You Ain't Goin' Nowhere 5. Knockin' on Heaven's Door 6. Forever Young 7. Tangled Up in Blue 8. Shelter from the Storm 9. Hurricane 10. Gotta Serve Somebody 11. Jokerman 12. Silvio 13. Everything Is Broken 14. Not Dark Yet 15. Things Have Changed
A CD-era double disc monster that mashes up Volume 1 and 2 and puts them in chronological order and then delves into the post-1971 wasteland of Dylan albums...It's still not as listenable as Volume II, since the early stuff is overly-familiar and the post '71 stuff gets spottier and spottier as it goes on..."Jokerman" is a fucking incredible adult contemporary pop single though...God, I love that song...Honestly, I bust this out for "Jokerman" every now and then, but I can imagine if you're a newcomer to Dylan, this compilation might blow your mind (and also drive you away from post-"Desire" Dylan)...
Here's part 2 in a series of quick rundowns of the scattered Blob Dylan albums I own...I did zero editing on this post, so let me know if it's too screwed-up...
Bob Dylan: Planet Waves
1974
Asylum Records
Format I Own it on: Vinyl
Track Listing: 1. On a Night Like This 2. Going, Going, Gone 3. Tough Mama 4. Hazel 5. Something There Is About You 6. Forever Young 7. Forever Young 8. Dirge 9. You Angel You 10. Never Say Goodbye 11. Wedding Song
Bob Dylan teams up with the Band again to kick out the mehs...This is the dictionary definition of a meh album for me...Dylan doesn't have anything particularly exciting to say (his most vivid writing is all the "Sweating pussies on bar stools" poetry on the back cover), so we're treated to imagery like, "Today on the countryside it was a-hotter than a crotch!" Uhhh...okay...
I'm also not a huge fan of the Band's trademark clavinet/wah/country/funk/rock sound...The first couple of tracks sound great but right around "Tough Mama" I just can't take anymore...The Band gets too Band-y for me and I feel like I'm in dusty record hell...Plus odd choices like putting two versions of 'Forever Young" back to back doesn't help...Still, if you find this cheap (and it's always cheap) there are a few must-have tracks, "Going, Going, Gone" and "Dirge" wallow in some really delicious despair...Also don't miss the slow version of "Forever Young" since it features some of my favorite Dylan vocals (especially at the end of those "may you always do for others, and let others do for you..." lines) (I'm still trying to determine if the Rod Stewart song from the 80's is a cover or just the most blatant rip-off ever written)...Definitely not bad, but not too great either...
Bob Dylan:Blood on the Tracks
1975
Columbia Records
Format I Own it on: Vinyl
Track Listing: 1. Tangled Up in Blue 2. Simple Twist of Fate 3. You're a Big Girl Now 4. Idiot Wind 5. You're Gonna Make Me Lonesome When You Go 6. Meet Me in the Morning 7. Lily, Rosemary and the Jack of Hearts 8. If You See Her, Say Hello 9. Shelter from the Storm 10. Buckets of Rain
Intensely personal singer/songwriter fare was extremely popular during this era and Dylan tries his hand at the genre and unsurprisingly blows away all the competition...In fact, he's never made an album anywhere near this good ever again (I mean, who knows...Maybe in a few months Bob will pump out an album that makes "Blood on the Tracks" sound like "Planet Waves" but I wouldn't hold my breath for too long)... To be super honest, it's not my favorite Dylan album (I prefer my Dylan a little more mysterious) but I can see why a lot of people consider this his best...It's packed with sharp storytelling ("Tangled Up in Blue"), heartache ("If You See Her, Say Hello") and unforgettable imagery ("Idiot Wind") ...By the way, you cannot miss "Idiot Wind," which is possibly my favorite track the man ever wrote...Just the most brutal, bitter take-down of an ex ever penned (sample lyrics: "You hurt the ones that I love best and cover up the truth with lies,
One day you'll be in the ditch, flies buzzing around your eyes,
Blood on your saddle...Idiot wind, blowing every time you move your teeth, You’re an idiot, babe, It’s a wonder that you still know how to breathe...), but don't feel too bad for the girl, Bob gives himself a proper beatdown in the final chorus...I especially recommend this album to folks who don't like Bob Dylan...None of the usual hurdles that trip people up are here...He sings beautifully and clearly, the lyrics and imagery are immediate, and the instrumentation is crisply professional...James Taylor albums sound really empty after you play this thing...
Bob Dylan: Desire
1976
Columbia Records
Format I Own it on: Vinyl
Track Listing: 1. Hurricane 2. Isis 3. Mozambique 4. One More Cup of Coffee (Valley Below) 5. Oh, Sister 6. Joey 7. Romance in Durango 8. Black Diamond Bay 9. Sara
If you're anything like me, you'll probably be blown away by your first couple listens to this album but then kinda never play it again...It's great stuff, but again, I prefer my Bob to have a bit more mystery...I can only listen to the long-form Get Out of Jail Free card of a song "Hurricane" so many times...It's like re-reading a police report over and over...The first time is the most interesting...Still, I haven't heard it in about five years and this fresh listen gives it back some of its original sparkle...But holy fuck, does "One More Cup of Coffee" rule...Now that's the sense of mystery I've been looking for...A sort of mist-filled, pitch black gypsy ballad about drinking a last cup of coffee before heading to the valley below...All of Side One is pretty flawless...I do find that the incessant violin starts to give me a headache somewhere in the middle of Side Two...Still, a very cool record filled with good stories, an old world music feel, and great melodies...I feel like I'm being overly critical...People usually love this record...
Anybody that knows me, knows that I love comics just as much as I love records...Sometimes as I dig through the longboxes that take up at least half of my bedroom, certain covers flood me with an overwhelming sense of nostalgia...I've gathered together a partial list of some of the covers that do that for me...Keep me in mind, I don't consider theses the greatest covers of all-time based on any objective criteria...These are just the comic covers that burned a hole in my mind as a kid...And still do...
The Amazing Spider-Man #181: I can still remember where I was when I first read this...I was coming back from an epic trip to West Branch where I managed to score some GI Joes and this comic...Standout moment: My Dad listening to 102.5 FM and hearing U2's "With or Without You." His reaction? "Something about this song (wistfully)...really pisses me off..."
The Thing #25: Loved this comic. I still bust it out all the time for pure comfort reading...The plot consists of The Thing finding a barn full of beer and hanging out with Leprechauns...This comic made me want to drink beer sooooo bad as a kid...And I can tell you, that I have more than accomplished that childhood goal...Still haven't seen any leprechauns though...
Uncanny X-Men #222: I can still remember the moment I bought this comic...I was at the Meat Quarters, checking out their spinner rack and saw this particular issue... It was so damn blue and brutal that I couldn't get my 3 quarters together fast enough! I had picked up a few issues of X-Men previously but this was the one that made it a monthly must buy...I never ever ever missed another issue of X-Men until...oh, 2009...
I must have read this and the previous issue a zillion times...I have a deep obsession with Star Wars and these early Marvel comics probably have a lot to do with that...
(the preceding issue)
Howard the Duck #23
Even though Howard the Duck was a bit before my time, I had this and many other issues thanks to Jellybean's in Flint, MI...
These are distant memories were dealing with here, but here's what I remember...Jellybean's was a store that had used records, books, and comics comics COMICS!! I rarely got to go there, but when I did, I would trade in a stack of new comics for a slightly smaller stack of 70's comics...That's where I became fluent in Howard the Duck, the Man-Thing, Devil Dinosaur, Kirby's 2001, Marvel's Godzilla, and many others that I'm forgetting about at the moment...I think this is where my lifelong Kirby love first bloomed...I would buy all his 70's stuff not even knowing they were done by the same guy...There was just something about his work that jumped out to me as a kid...Here's a few old Kirby covers that enthralled me...
Devil Dinosaur #3
C'mon! It had a caveman wearing a Triceratops head using another dinosaur as a damn club! If anybody ever doubted Kirby's genius, doubt no more...
2001 #9
Mister Machine! It's hard for me to think of too many other underused characters that had such great designs...I loove me some Machine Man...
Super Powers Vol. 2 # 2
I still consider this one of the Kirby's greatest covers..And that's some pretty high praise...He's done about 30 or so of my all-time favorite covers (the others aren't on this list only cos I didn't see them as a kid...This is pure nostalgia, remember?)
ALF Annual #1
See the Sacred Things post for another example of ALF on Mount Rushmore...King-Size annuals are another sacred thing that should have been on that list...The "Evolutionary War" trade dress carries a lot of nostalgic weight for me...It reminds me of the summer of '87...Holed up in my bedroom pouring over X-Factor annuals...
X-Factor Annual # 3
...Like this one...
Dareveil #196
I found that off-model Wolverine with the claws coming out of his wrist so damn compelling that I remember actually passing up a magazine that had Yoda on the cover just to buy it...
Who knows...It might have been this magazine...This is the only magazine I can find from 1983 (the year the Daredevil comic was published) that had Yoda on the cover...Remember, I didn't end up buying the magazine, so memories get especially hazy...
Transformers #1
I remember winning a poster drawing contest when I was 7 years old and walking away with the $5.00 cash prize...And $5.00 was a big deal back in 1984! Here is a list of the items I purchased at the Hale Drug Store with that five bucks:
. the above-pictured Transformers comic
This exact E.T. action figure
...and a candy bar...I can't remember the exact candy bar, but my go-to's back then were either a Mars Bar...
...or a Hershey Big Block...
Oh, man...Looking at those candy bars is making me hungry...I might have to go down to the candy machine...Let's resume this another time...What are some of the comics that bring back memories for you guys? I want you to think long and hard about this one and bring me a 20,000 word essay, typed, single-space on Monday...
